Gingerale and Mustard (not together)

I just finished Jennifer Reese's "Make the Bread, Buy the Butter" - a cookbook of sorts that compares the cost and difficulty of making things yourself versus buying it at the store. I thought it was a great book - sometimes I was shocked by what she said to make (croissants?!), but I found it really useful for things like condiments (mustard and horseradish). Which I was then inspired to make. I also got inspired to try making gingerale with yeast.

Ginger-ale first. She says that homemade, this costs $1.59 for 2 liters, versus $1.79 for Canada Dry, and the taste of homemade is superior. My two taste testers and I agreed that this soda would be DELICIOUS in some kind of mixed drink...with gin or something, because the ginger is stronger, and because it is still sweet but not overly sweet, and definitely not like canada dry. It isn't like Reed's gingerbrew either though - a little less fizzy. I say it is worth trying once. *I wanted to try making it with less sugar, or with a mix with honey and stevia, but I am not sure how it would turn out since the yeast eats the sugar in order to produce the fizz. So, I went with exact recipe amounts.

Gingerale
juice of 1 lemon
2 T finely grated fresh ginger
1 c. sugar
1/4 t. instant yeast cold water

*You will also need a plastic 2 Liter bottle and funnel sort of thing. I used tin foil! (A glass jar will explode and a plastic water jug does not seal tight enough, so go with the standard pop bottle.)

Pour lemon juice into bottle via "funnel." Add ginger, sugar, and yeast.

Pour in water to fill bottle and cap tightly. Gently shake.

Let sit out at room temp for 24-36 hours, until the bottle is very firm to the touch. Refrigerate.

It is ready to drink when it is cold! (It only lasts a couple of days once opened, so be prepared to drink up.)



The other thing I tried was homemade stone ground mustard. I go through this stuff like crazy (mostly in salad dressings) - so I was excited to try it. Reese says that this costs $0.22/T for the homemade version, versus $0.33/T for grey poupon. I am not sure the cost for the organic stuff from the co-op, but i will look it up next time I go. To me this mustard tasted GREAT. Really. It is a little spicy, and pretty similar to store bought mustard, but fresher and more potent.

Mustard
1/2 c. yellow mustard seeds
2 T. dry mustard
1/3 c. vinegar + 1 T. (I tried a mix of white and apple cider vinegars)
1 T. sugar (optional)
1 t. kosher salt
2 garlics, peeled (*me and garlic are not friends, so I left this out)

1. Grind seeds in a spice grinder (aka coffee grinder) with the dry mustard. It will look like wheat germ - the seeds will not totally break down. (Mine actually was a little finer than wheat germ - so I guess my seeds did break down. huh.)
2. Put seed mixture in a bowl and add 1/2 c. water. Mix together. Cover and let rest overnight.
3. Scrape mixture into a blender or food processor and add rest of ingredients. Liquify. Scrape down the sides and add more vinegar if the consistency is too thick.
4. Store in a jar in the fridge - but DON'T EAT for at least a week.
Makes 1 1/2 cups

*You will notice a lack of mustard photos...this is because my computer and camera were stolen this weekend and I lost the picture of ground up mustard seeds, and I never took one of the finished product. Alas. My prime motivation to secure another computer and camera is to assist in my fave pastime of blog posting.  Luckily this post was in the works pre-computer absence, but there may be a delay before another post comes around.

Liver Pate

Lest your first instinct be "Ew...liver?!" - I will say up front that I had my own doubts. I mean, who eats liver these days? My grandma - maybe. After eating this pate, I will no longer speak ill of this organ meat. And it turns out that liver is SUPER good for you, like crazy amounts of vitamin A and B12, and boosts for energy and brain power and all kinds of good stuff. The link with the recipe actually lists the vitamins in just 1 oz. of liver - and there is another linked page here with 10 Top Health Benefits. I've also been reading this book called Anticancer, which I am finding very interesting because of the ways that it talks about low stress and change of diet (change of lifestyle kinds of things) as having profound effects on how our bodies deal with cancer. I'm feeling amazed by food lately - how changing how we eat can do such drastic benefit to our health.

So - back to pate. According to the author of the recipe, it is important that the liver you get be organic or grass fed. I tried this pate twice: first with Kadejan chicken livers from the Wedge ($1.99/lb) and next with Callister chicken livers from the Seward ($4.99/lb). According to the recipe link, the color of organic vs. pasture raised chicken livers is noticeable, but I found both sets of livers to be pretty similar.

The pate made a great lunch with carrots and celery and cucumber - or it would be good on crackers, or whatever. The only note I have for the recipe is that it takes quite some time to cook off the liquids after you add them, so be prepared. Otherwise this recipe is super simple and easy. Also, I think the pate is way better made with wine than with vinegar (but perhaps this is obvious).

Roasted eggplant and tomato curry

There is this dish they put in the hot bar at the Seward that I really like: roasted eggplant, tomatoes, cauliflower, and peppers in a not so-saucy sauce. Feeling inspired, I bought these main ingredients, only to come home and realize I was sorta clueless about the spices. So I did some online research, coming up with not too much, and settled on re-working a Baigan Bharta (Indian dish of roasted eggplant curry) recipe. And the dish turned out great - though not really much like the one at the Seward. Oh Well. AND, I really want to try the straight up Baigan Bharta too. Have you had ROASTED eggplant?! It becomes this creamy substance that is really delicious.

My recipe is below, with these side notes: the amount of tomatoes made it distinctly saucy - you could use a small can of tomatoes if you want that to be different; garlic would be tasty in there if you can eat it; and, I did this food prep in two parts - I made the eggplant (and cauliflower) one night, and finished the dish the next. You don't need to do that, but it makes dinner on night two take only 20 minutes.

1 large eggplant
1 small head cauliflower
1 green pepper, diced large
2 T ghee
1 tsp black mustard seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp chili powder
1 medium onion - minced fine
1 in ginger root - minced fine
1 medium green chili - minced
1 large can chopped tomatoes
1 c. coconut milk

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Wash eggplant and dry it. Make incision with a sharp knife all over the whole eggplant. Rub some oil over it . Place on a baking sheet and in a preheated oven. Bake for 40 minutes. While the eggplant is roasting, chop the cauliflower into pieces and toss it with coconut oil or olive oil. Put it on a flat baking dish and roast it in the oven with the eggplant - it will be done after 20 minutes. (Photo is cooled eggplant before I scooped out all the insides.)

Allow the eggplant to cool. Once it has cooled cut it in the middle, scoop out the soft flesh and place it in a bowl. Mash finely with a fork or chop. Discard skin.

Heat ghee over medium heat. Add mustard seeds and cumin seeds. Once the spices start to pop, add the onion, ginger, garlic (if using) and green chili. When they are soft, add in the rest of the spices and saute for another minute or two. Add tomatoes, eggplant, chopped/roasted cauliflower, green pepper and coconut milk. Stir occasionally and let simmer until all ingredients are hot and softened to your liking. Because I roasted the cauliflower and like crunchy peppers, this only needed to sit for 10 minutes for me.

Paleo Shepherd's Pie

This recipe came to fruition because of too much salt in mashed cauliflower. I was whipping up the steamed cauliflower and I poured in a heap of salt. Bummer. I mean, I'm kind of a salt fiend, but these were pretty inedible. I thought they might be salvageable mixed with other stuff to temper the saltiness - and so I made shepherd's pie. Which really, what is shepherd's pie? Meat and veggies covered with mashed potatoes, right? I think the only time I ever ate it was while on a bike trip in Baltimore where the houseful of folks made a big vegetarian version. I can't remember if there was fake meat or just veggies, but I remember I liked it. Although, really, what didn't I like while on a bike trip?

In any case, I really don't have much to compare this to, but it reminded me of two things: 1) making and cooking "hobo dinners" while camping as a kid (cut up various veggies and wrap them up in tin foil with bits of burger to cook in the fire) and 2) eating at my grandma's when she served hamburger gravy on mashed potatoes. Her recipe came from the public school's cafeteria cookbook (chow mein was another of her favorites) - back when cafeteria's actually cooked food with real ingredients and thus USED cookbooks. Not that their recipe's were particularly healthful - but there were actual ingredients. (As a tangent, my mom just told me about a woman in apple valley or some suburb who has lead this effort to overhaul 5 school kitchens so that the school's can serve healthy, actual food. Apparently school cafeteria's are currently equipped only to reheat food, and if given raw meat they have no way to actually cook it. ?!)

Anyway, there is something pretty comforting to me about having hamburger and mashed potatoes together...it's such a midwestern-hotdish sort of thing. The recipe I used is here, and she uses what is probably standard to shepherd's pie: carrots and celery to accompany said cauliflower, onion and burger - with some broth. Because I was in a last minute situation, I used cabbage in lieu of carrots/celery. I halved the recipe and did not use bacon - only a pound of burger. I also threw in a little wine with the broth - don't know if it made much difference, but I think it could only be for the better if it did!

I'd totally make this again - maybe in the fall with brussels sprouts in there too. And call it shepherd's hotdish. or something.

Raspberry Bars

I don't bake too often, mostly because I really hate cleaning food mixers. Sometimes on Sundays I'll make an exception. Today was stormy and I felt a little homesick for my mom, so I tried one of the recipes she has been working on for a while. I believe that this recipe is a blend of a few from different gf cookbooks. These were pretty tasty.

Thanks to Megan and everyone else who has posted and inspired me in the kitchen.

Crust:

3/4 cups gf flour

1/4 cup almond flour

1/4 cup confectioners sugar

1/4 tsp xanthan gum

pinch salt

6 T butter

Bake at 350 for 15-20 - until golden

Filling:

1 cup raspberries

6 oz raspberry jam

Topping:

7 T butter (soft)

3/4 cups superfine sugar

2 eggs, lightly beaten

3 cups shredded coconut

1/2 cups rice flour

Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes or until skewer comes out clean.

Kale Chips

I've been meaning to try making kale chips all winter I think, and it was only after my mom fed me hers (and reported that she makes them all the time) that I finally got to it. She suggested I turn the oven hotter than most recipes say, which worked great for me. These are super simple to make and really tasty. I have yet to find a good way to store them so they stay crispy though. You can stick em back in the oven a day or two later and they'll crisp up again, but when I put them in a baggie, they wilted. Freezing them might work...I want to look for something because it would be a nice way to store garden kale into the winter.

Kale Chips
1 head of kale (I used red russian)
2 T fat (I used coconut oil, my mom uses olive oil)
Salt

Wash and de-stem the kale leaves. Toss with oil to coat each side - I stirred for a nice long while to make sure that all the leaves were thoroughly covered. Bake on a cookie sheet for 15 minutes at 350 degrees, checking leaves midway through to check for brown-ness. Make sure the leaves are spread out in a single layer. You will know they are done when they are crispy to the touch and just turning brown on the edges. Sprinkle with (smoky) salt and eat!

Apple Cabbage Bacon Slaw

It seems that I like bacon on anything these days...which may be partly due to the fact that the Beeler bacon ends were on sale at Mississippi Market a few weeks ago, so you could get two pounds for $4. I got many packages to put in the freezer, and now I have such bounty!

I was scrounging around my somewhat bare fridge and cupboards this week for dinner, and upon finding cabbage, apples, and aforementioned bacon, I looked up some slaw recipes. The one I settled on tasted great - more tangy than creamy, and both sweet and savory. I only had a little cabbage, so I used carrots to supplement (which turned out fine, but I think it would be better with 100% cabbage). And I got to use the first garden chives of the season!

Apple Cabbage Bacon Slaw
6 strips bacon, cooked and chopped
1/2 head of napa cabbage (green or red) *I used some carrots too
2 Mcintosh apples, unpeeled, halved, cored, and sliced thin
Juice of 1 lemon
1/2 red onion, sliced thin
1/2 bunch of fresh chives, chopped

Dressing:
1/4 cup grainy mustard
1/4 cup mayonnaise
Pinch of sugar
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Start by cooking the bacon until it is crispy (lately I do this in the oven because it is way easier. Just put the slices in a baking pan at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes, and it's done). Put all slaw ingredients in a bowl. Mix dressing ingredients together, and then fold into the slaw.

PS. The dressing on this slaw is really tasty (especially with homemade mayo), and one absolutely would not need the bacon in there if carnivorous or pork eating was not their thing.